This invention relates to a ball joint including a ball member having a spherical end, and a socket member having a recess for rockingly receiving the spherical end of the ball member.
The ball joint further includes means for retaining the spherical end of the ball member in the recess of the socket member, and various types of retaining means have been proposed. However, such proposals are objectable with regard to fabricating or assembling operations. Further, it also has been proposed to fabricate the socket member of a synthetic resin material with the opening of the recess being smaller than the diameter of the spherical end of the ball member such that the spherical end of the ball member can forcibly pass through the opening of the recess in assembling the ball joint. However, the spherical end of the ball member cannot reliably be retained in the recess.